Page 65 of Released

I’ve still got Loki’s hand in a tight grip, and he pulls me into another crushing hug, squeezing me tightly. I don’t care though, I need to feel him for the next few weeks so that I know I’m not back at that manor house in England, all alone and doubting the existence of my Knights.

“It’s not goodbye,” he whispers into my hair. “Just see you later, Pretty Girl.”

He pulls back enough to dip his head and capture my lips with his own, and I taste the salt on his lips as he must do on mine, our sadness spilling down our cheeks in the summer moonlight. I cling to him as he tries to step away, but I don’t want to be released, not now or ever.

“I fucking love you, Lilly,” he says against my lips, giving me one last kiss before prising my arms from around him and stepping away.

“I fucking love you too, Loki,” I choke back, a sob stuck in my throat as I watch his angelic features crease with despair.

Jax suddenly blocks my view, taking Loki’s place and grabbing me by the back of my neck, pulling me into a soul-searing kiss. I grip his arms tightly, more tears tracing their hot path down my cheeks as I fall into his kiss. It’s painful in its softness, in the way he teases my mouth and tongue, the touch of his own at odds with the way he grips me tightly, possessively.

I’m gasping when he pulls back just as suddenly as he grabbed me, looking into my eyes with his piercing blue ones.

“You are my fucking light, Baby Girl. My soul.” He places my hand over his thumping heart. “My heart. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you,bothof you, safe.'' His other palm caresses my stomach, our baby pushing against it and making him smile in that way that only Jax can.

“I love you, Jax,” I tell him, watching that small smile brighten until it outshines the moon above us.

He places a gentle kiss on my forehead and then lets me go for Kai to take his place. My lips wobble, sheer determination the only thing keeping my knees from buckling under me.

Kai steps into me, so close that the heat from his clothed body spreads to mine, and I want nothing more than to bask in it. Both hands come up, palms cupping my cheeks as he brings our foreheads together.

“You are my freedom, sweetheart,” he confesses softly, and I love the new nickname, something that only he calls me.

“And you are mine,” I say back, closing the distance between our lips this time, desperate for one final taste.

We kiss as though it will release us from the tyranny that still holds us hostage, as though it will kill the monsters that lurk in the dark waiting to spill our blood and devour us.

“I love you,” he whispers against my kiss-swollen lips, pulling away but keeping hold of my face for one final moment.

“I love you,” I repeat back, swallowing hard when he lets go and steps away to stand back with Jax and Loki.

My darkest Knight, my husband, steps up to me next, and I hate the turmoil churning in his silver eyes.

“We will come for you soon, my love,” he tells me, invading my personal space so that I crane my neck to look up at him and his fierce expression. “I swear on my cursed life that we will do what needs to be done, and then we can all finally be free to live.”

He doesn’t give me time to answer, to say a single damn thing before his lips are on mine and he’s kissing the life out of me. It’s a kiss that sends warriors into battle, that gives soldiers something to fight for, and I give freely, pouring all of my love and adoration for him into it.

We end the embrace softly, lingering for just another touch, another second more, trying to stave off the inevitable. He heaves a great sigh, like the weight of the world is on his shoulders.

“You are my everything, Lilly Vanderbilt,” he says against my lips.

“You mean Lilith Taylor,” I try to joke, but it falls a bit flat, and no one laughs, myself included.

“Regardless of your name, you are fucking mine, Lilly, and I am yours,” he says vehemently, angling my head with his hand gripped under my chin so that I’m looking into his hypnotic, grey eyes. “We are fused and nothing can tear us apart. Not my father. Not the rest of the board. Not even the devil him-fucking-self.”

Fresh tears sting my eyes and fall as I nod my head.

“I love you so much, Ash,” I tell him, my own palms coming up to cup his stubbled cheeks.

“I love you too, Lilly.”

The engine starts behind us, and the pain in the back of my throat intensifies as I try to swallow but can’t. Taking a shuddering breath, I pull the last vestiges of strength I have and take a step away from Ash, then another, my hands falling away from him as his fall from me.

“I’ll see you soon,” I tell them all, indulging in one final look at my Knights, the moonlight casting them in its glow until they appear like vengeful gods, ready to wage war, all hard lines and corded muscles.

Turning around, I give them my back as I open the car door and get inside, wincing slightly as my sore arsecheeks hit the seat. But I welcome the pain, the reminder of my lovers, of the other parts of my soul that are waiting to be reunited with me.

I just hope that it’s not too long before we can once again be in each other's embrace.

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